More than average
by frenchie607
Summary: Kagome, Inuyasha, Miroku, and Sango used to be friends. Now they are in highschool, Kagome has a child, and her life is getting even more complicated. Can they all become friends again, and can Inuyasha and Kagome become something more?InuKag MirSan maybe
1. The beginning

A/N: I don't own Inuyasha. I just thought that this would be a good fanfiction. So ya. On with the story!

_We used to be friends _I thought as I looked on at Inuyasha Takahashi playing lacrosse with his jock friends. _We used to all play at the park together, and prank call, and study together. It changed, though. It all changed because of the beginning of middle school. _It was then six years from the beginning of that fateful 6th grade year. High school had been in my life for about two and a half years, and I was a junior.

I looked over at my best friends Miroku and Sango. They had also been friends with Inuyasha until that year. However, we couldn't stand to look at him anymore because of then. He had become cruel and had turned against us because he wanted to be popular. "Hey, Kagome," Sango said to me, and woke me up from my daydream, "do you want to go to the dance club tonight?"

I smiled, but I shook my head, "I can't guys. I don't think I could find a babysitter for Shippo on such short notice, and I have my shift from 3:00 until 9:00."

"We understand," Miroku said, "maybe next week."

"Yes, I guess I could try." With that I walked to my car and started the engine. At those times I hated that I did not have much time to hang out with my friends, but I couldn't help it. All of it was out of my control. My foot pressed on the gas and then I drove to the daycare to pick up Shippo.

When I walked into the daycare, Shippo was sitting on the floor playing with some building blocks. Then he saw me, and I smiled as he ran towards me. "Momma!!!" he yelled as he ran towards me. Yes, that's right, I'm a mother as a junior in high school. I had a boyfriend named Kouga in the early part of my freshman year. One time, things got out of hand, and I became pregnant.

"Hey, Kit," I laughed as he hugged me around my legs, "how was your day?"

"Oh, it was great, Momma. I played with this new girl named Rin, and then I learned how to count to twenty!"

"Fun! Come on, we need to get home."

"Okay!"

During the car ride I kept smiling. My pregnancy with Shippo had had its fair share of hardships. Especially when my mother threw me out of the house, and Kouga refused to help take care of our child. Despite that, I found a job, an apartment, and I had my true friends to help me along. Shippo was the true love that came out of those hardships.

Both of us walked up to our apartment, with my hand in Shippo's. The keys jingled in my hand, I unlocked the door, and I went into the kitchen to get Shippo some grapes for his snack. "Eat up, Kit. We need to get to the restaurant quickly. Then you can go with Hojo and play with Souten." He smiled and ate his snack with all the enthusiasm that a two year old had. Again I smiled. After that Shippo finished his snack and we got into the car again and traveled to my work.


	2. the restaurant

A/N: again I say that Inuyasha isn't mine, and neither are blues clues and superman. By the way, I don't really have anything against Kikyo in the series and manga, but I decided that she should be mean in this. Have fun!

La Cuisine du France is an upscale restaurant in the richer district of Tacoma, Washington. I chose to work there because the pay was great for waitresses and it was only about 15-30 minutes from my apartment in Lakewood. We parked in the employee parking lot in the back of the restaurant. Shippo hopped out before me and I had to run up to him to catch him. "Whoa! Slow down, Turbo." I picked him up and he laughed. The door opened while we were playing around and my eyes met a pair of kind green eyes.

"Kagome, do you think Shippo is ready to go with me to the daycare area, or are you guys going to goof around more?" Hojo chuckled in his kind way.

Shippo ran towards Hojo and smiled, but he turned to me and showed all of his teeth too, "Bye Mama!" I waved as I also went to the door, but I walked the opposite direction towards the female employee dressing room.

When I got there, I saw the other waitresses giggling, but they stopped when I walked into the room. It had always been like that because I was a single mother, and even in today's world that is not considered proper. Just to bug them I raised my eyebrow and went towards my locker. They all sneered at me and I giggled under my breath. Eventually I had changed and I walked towards the kitchen to get my area that I was going to cover that night.

Joe, my boss, gave me my assignments and I went towards the only full table I had in my area at the time. I noticed that the table was filled with Inuyasha and his girlfriend Kikyo. My body tensed as I remembered Inuyasha's and Kikyo's roles in my middle school and high school careers. Both of them had tried to make my life a complete hell, and had succeeded a lot of the time.

Throughout my pregnancy, Inuyasha and Kikyo had gone out of their way to call me a whore, fat, and irresponsible. After I gave birth they still attacked me with many insults, and the last straw was when they told me that Shippo was a bastard child, so I punched Kikyo in the face. Surprisingly I did not get in trouble because it was provoked. Plus, what could they do besides give me detention, or suspend me for a day? Nothing.

Even though I disliked these people I had to do my job, so I walked over to their table and gave my standard, "Hi, my name is Kagome and I will be your server tonight. Are you ready to order?" Kikyo smirked at me, but she did not dare say anything because of the last incident.

Inuyasha looked at me and I thought I could see a level of sorrow, but then it vanished quickly as if I had merely imagined it. He spoke, and his voice sounded overly confident, "Ya, we want two filet mignons, brie, and sparkling cider. Make it snappy." I plastered on a large smile, said ok, and walked towards the kitchen with the orders.

Five minutes later I brought the drinks to their table, and was greeted with Kikyo who said, "Hey, Higurashi. Are you still living alone with your little mistake?" I tensed up, but did not dare defend myself for fear that I would be fired. Inuyasha didn't say anything, but again I thought I could see the sorrow and pity in his eyes. Tears filled up my eyes, and I needed to get out of there. Inadvertently I smiled, said their dinners would be there in a few minutes, walked back to the kitchen, and locked myself in the employee bathroom to cry. When the food was ready I washed my eyes and went out, but I knew that Kikyo and Inuyasha could see that they got to me. That thought made me mad, and that scared me.

The rest of my shift went normally, and by the end I was tired and wanted to finish the rest of my homework that I could not finish in school and go to bed. Hojo handed me my sleeping son and I drove home with him sleeping in the car seat. Eventually we arrived home and I carried him to his bedroom and set him down into his superman pajamas and into his blues clues sheets.

Soon after I went into the kitchen and did the rest of my homework. It was 10:30 pm when I finished, and then I went into my bedroom. A book in Spanish sat on my dresser and I read a few pages of it. At around 11:00 I put the book down and went to sleep to rest for the next day.


	3. Maybe

A/N: Sorry, I don't own Inuyasha, or some other brands in here.

The next morning I woke up at my normal time of 3:30 am. Every morning I felt bad that I had to get Shippo up that early, and this morning was no different. However, I went to his bedroom after I dressed and woke him up gently. "Baby, come on, we need to go." Shippo looked up at me, and even though I could tell he was exhausted, he smiled and said, "Okay, Mama." My heart tugged in my chest and I felt horrible for doing this to him. Sometimes I felt as if I did not spend enough time with him, and yet he seemed to be glad every time that I walked into the room. Every time this guilt happened I tried to remind myself that I was doing what was best for him, but it became harder whenever I looked into those tired eyes in the early hours of the morning.

He dressed tiredly and I made him a quick, nutritious breakfast and we loaded ourselves into the car. Halfway through the ride I noticed that Shippo had fallen asleep and I felt grateful that he would get more rest. The daycare center assured me (as they do every morning) that they would let him sleep for at least four more hours. It seemed as if I was on autopilot as I drove to my morning job as a veterinarian receptionist.

Usually I work every morning at the veterinarian's office for about three and a half hours. That amount of time still gives me a decent amount of money, and the waitressing job added on to that allowed me to provide well enough for Shippo and me. Dr. Fisher is a great boss and usually worries about me like an aunt, so working in her office is my favorite job.

Around 7:30 I stopped working and gathered my stuff to go to school. Steilacoom high is not that far away from the office so it didn't take me that long to drive to the school. When I got there I parked in the student parking lot and then went down to the track area to run a little bit before school. 7:50 rolled around and I went back up to the school and went to my locker to put away some of my stuff and got out my homework and books. I didn't see Sango or Miroku yet, but they were both in my first class so I knew that I would see them then, and I did.

The rest of the morning went by normally, except for the fact that I felt this huge headache. Soon it was lunch time and while Sango, Miroku, and I were walking to lunch I was about to laugh at Sango hitting Miroku over the head again because he touched her butt (even though she loves him) when the world became a massive swirl. Suddenly I felt the cold ground underneath me and the last thing I remember seeing was Sango screaming for a nurse; then I blacked out.

I woke up a little while later in the nurse's office with Sango and Miroku standing over my head. "She's awake!" they both said and I chuckled. Then, I tried to get up, but the nurse, them, and another mysterious hand pushed me down.

"What happened," I said, kind of frustrated, "and who carried me because I know that it wasn't Sango or Miroku."

"Um," said a sheepish Miroku, "Inuyasha was right there, so he kind of picked you up after Sango yelled for a nurse."

"He WHAT?!" I yelled and sat up despite very good efforts to keep me lying down.

"Feh, you could at least try to be thankful, Wench," said Inuyasha, who I figured was the holder of the mysterious hand.

"My name is not 'Wench', its KAGOME!" I screamed, "You should at least know that after all the years we were friends before you became evil. By the way, why did you help me? Did you just suddenly have an epiphany where you though 'Hm, maybe I've been cruel to Kagome all these years'?"

Before he could answer, the nurse said something, "Shh, don't get too excited. We don't want you to pass out again. Kagome, when was the last time you ate?"

"Um… well," now I looked embarrassed, "about three days ago. I've been busy with school work, and my jobs, and my son…"

A hand shot out to my arm and held it even as I struggled to get away. "You haven't eaten for THREE DAYS?!" a voice I recognized as Inuyasha's bellowed. "You need to eat. This isn't healthy! Shippo could have seen you pass out. Has he eaten by the way?"

Then I shook. Nobody, especially not Inuyasha Takahashi the bully, was going to criticize me on how I raise my son. "Yes, he's eaten asshole. Do you think I'm going to let my son STARVE? You have some nerve!" Miroku and Sango looked visibly scared, and Inuyasha was looking really embarrassed. Immediately my eyes widened, "What time is it?"

Sango tried to calm me down, "Don't worry, it's 2:00."

"2:00? I was passed out for that long? I have to get my homework. I need to go to class."

"No you don't," warned Inuyasha, "I don't want you passing out again." He touched my brown hair and my eyes widened.

"What are you doing?"

His gold eyes looked into my blue ones, and then he suddenly realized what he was doing and he stopped. The nurse chose this time to give me a tray of food, but I couldn't eat it. "Um, ma'am… I'm vegetarian and this has meat on it." She looked apologetic and immediately went to go get another tray. Consequently I felt guilty for having her go get another tray, but I am vegetarian and I just couldn't bring myself to eat it.

Sango looked at me, "Do you need me to pick up Shippo?"

Although I appreciated the offer, I shook my head, "No, I always pick him up. Plus, I need to talk to his instructors."

"Hey, can I ride along with you?" Inuyasha asked. I had almost forgotten that he was there.

"Why?"

"My car broke down, and I don't want to ride on the bus again. Also, I can pick up my niece because I think she goes to the same daycare."

Miroku chose that lightened moment to make a reach for Sango's butt. A slap was heard a few seconds later, and the nurse was welcomed with my tray to the sight of Miroku unconscious on the ground. Inuyasha and I burst out laughing, and stopped when we noticed that we were both laughing. The nurse gave me the tray of vegetarian food, I thanked her, and I ate it as fast as I could so that I could get to Shippo soon.

In the car Inuyasha was surprisingly quiet, and a thought occurred to me. "Why didn't you ask Kikyo for a lift?"

"I broke up with her. I was tired of making fun of people, and cheerleaders don't really appeal to me anymore." He paused for a moment, "Who's Shippo's father?"

"You never heard?"

"No, nobody except for Kikyo's group mentioned your pregnancy. If anybody did Miroku or Sango would confront them."

"Oh," I softened a little. Inuyasha seemed to be trying to be nice. "It was Kouga. As soon as he heard I was pregnant he told me that he would have no part in Shippo's life and then he moved. I think he's in college now."

"WHAT? If that guy ever comes back I will hurt him."

"Please don't," I sighed, "I'm fine."

"You call passing out because your tired and hungry from all your jobs, short time, school stress and Shippo responsibilities 'fine'?"

"Look," I said, as I tried to keep calm, "I'm doing the best I can." I parked near the daycare center. "Whenever I look into Shippo's eyes, I feel guilty that I sometimes don't have enough time for him, but what else can I do? He needs food, clothing, a roof over his head, and toys."

His voice softened, "Don't you think that he deserves a mother who can be with him?"

"Yes. I want that for him and for me, but for right now, I can't."

"What about your mother?"

"She kicked me out. She won't even let me see my little brother, Souta." My hand went towards my car door and I opened it. "Come on, Shippo is waiting for me, and we also need to get your niece."

Inuyasha opened his door too, and we both walked up to the daycare. Shippo ran up to me in his traditional way, and I walked with him to go and give his instructors the money for tuition while Inuyasha went to go get his niece.

"Rin!" Shippo yelled as we walked to the car.

"Shippo!" said a little girl with a ponytail to the side of her head. I assumed that she was Rin, but I couldn't believe Inuyasha was her Uncle.

"Inuyasha," I grinned, "I've heard so much about Rin from Shippo. I didn't know she was your niece. Is Sessoumaru at home now?"

"Yes," he growled.

Laughing, I patted his black hair. It felt easy to fall back into the camaraderie, but we weren't friends again, yet. I drove to his house. "Hey, Inuyasha, can Shippo go with you and Rin?" Shippo's face lit up as I asked.

"Sure, but why?"

"I think Shippo would like to play with Rin." Shippo looked so happy. "By the way, Inuyasha, say hi to your parents and your brother for me."

"Whatever."

I laughed, kissed Shippo, and drove off to work. I got there, I changed, and I got my assignments. About two hours later I had a new person at a table. "Hello, my name is Kagome and I will be your server tonight. Are you ready to order?"

I froze as I heard the voice I hadn't heard in two years, "Hello, Kagome. Remember me?"


	4. Kouga

A/N: Again, I don't own Inuyasha or any places, brands, etc that are mentioned in here. Kikyo will be in the next chapter. I hope this isn't too fluffy. Thanks for the reviews by the way. I didn't expect them, so it was nice to receive them.

My heart raced. I couldn't believe that he was back. _Why now?_ I remember thinking. "Kouga, what are you doing here?" despite my best efforts, my voice wavered.

A smile spread across his face, "I just wanted to see how you were doing. I mean, it isn't every day that a man gets to see the mother of his child. Did it turn out to be a boy or a girl?"

"You have no right to be here. The last time I saw you was when you denounced me and our child." Since I knew that I was going to be fired if I raised my voice, I tried to calm down, "If you will please give me your order, I will put it into the kitchen and get another server for you."

"I don't want any food. Someone just told me that you worked here and I decided to drop by for a visit." Again he smiled, "You didn't answer me about our child. No matter, I'm going to school at Evergreen State College in Olympia. I'll drop by your place soon; I already have your address." Then he left, and I stood there as still as the statue of David. My eyes widened as I realized what he said. _How can he know where I live? _I shook my head and tried to breathe. He didn't scare me; at least, I thought so at first.

On the drive to Inuyasha's I reflected on my relationship with Kouga. We met during the summer before freshman year. He was going to be a junior, and I thought that he was so "hot" so I dated him. To be honest, I never loved him, but being the idealistic fourteen-year-old I was back then, I thought I did. In the beginning he was sweet, he gave me many gifts, and he used to tell me he loved me as we kissed. All good things must come to an end though. September came and he became more distant, still possessive, but distant. Every time we were together he started to pressure me to have sex, saying that "if I loved him I would do it." Finally I did, on that faithful day of September 10th, and I became pregnant with Shippo. Kouga found out, and he told me that it wasn't his fault that I had slept with him. His family also found out and they moved to California to stay away from me. Even my mother exiled me. Eight months later Shippo was born four weeks early on May thirteenth.

Two years later I was sitting in my car on May 20th and all I could think was _What does Kouga want? _Eventually I arrived at the Takahashi house, ready to resume my hands-on motherly duties. _What if Kouga comes to the apartment? Can I really trust him? _For the second time that night my heart seemed to beat very fast. Autopilot took over and walked me to the door while my brain decided what I was going to do.

Inuyasha opened the door, "Yeah, I'll get Shippo."

"Wait," a lump formed in my throat, "I need to talk to you."

"Uh, ok." He moved aside, "Y'know, you're acting really weird, Wench."

Fatigue overrode my hatred for that name and I just sat down in his living room. "Can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure…"

"I, um, need you to take care of Shippo for tonight. If you can't, I can try to find someone else, but this is, uh, an important matter."

His eyebrow rose, "Got a boyfriend coming over?"

"NO!" I felt embarrassed, even though I shouldn't because this guy hadn't exactly been my best bud these past years. "Um, it's another matter. Please, can you get your mom? I'll ask her by myself."

"Whatever," somehow I could tell he knew that something was up, but I felt gratitude towards him for not bringing it up too much.

Izayoi, Inuyasha's mother, walked into the room and almost immediately enveloped me in a hug that comforted me. "Kagome! It's been so long. Shippo is such a darling, I could tell he took after you," she smiled, "What do you need, Sweetheart?"

"I was wondering if you could, uhm, take Shippo for a night or maybe longer. There are some matters I need to tend to. I hope this doesn't sound rude."

"Of course not, Dear, I do need to know these circumstances though."

The phrase "Nosy but nice" came to mind. "Can Inuyasha leave the room?"

"Anything you want. Inuyasha, sweetie, can you leave Kagome and I alone for a few minutes?"

"Feh," he looked uninterested and walked out.

"Okay, dear, what are these matters?"

"Well, Shippo's father is back in town and he, um, says that he knows where we live. I don't think I can trust him and I don't want Shippo to be hurt, so I wanted him to come here because Kouga thinks that I don't like you guys. I'll stay at my apartment."

A look of alarm passed over Izayoi's face, "Will your house be secure? Are you sure he won't hurt you?"

"I'm not sure. If he does, at least I will know that it was not Shippo who gets harmed."

"Couldn't you stay here?"

"No, Kouga would get suspicious. Tonight I will call my friends to tell them that he is back, but I beg you to please not talk to anybody about this. The certainty that anything is even going to happen is not one hundred percent, so I would rather it not become widespread."

"Fine, I'll try. Thank you for trusting me Kagome."

"It's no problem. When I was friends with Inuyasha back in the day you were a better mother to me than my 'real' one. I only hope to return that favor." Bent over, I hugged her, "Please tell Shippo that I will see him soon."

After I opened the door and walked not even three steps Inuyasha's voice boomed. "Why the hell didn't you tell me?" Without thinking I rubbed my eyes; at that point I was exhausted, but it looked like I had to talk to another person.

"Because I knew that for some strange reason you would fly off the handle,"; tightness gathered into my chest in something that felt like gratitude, but more loving I guess, but I couldn't describe it at the time. "We're not even friends, but ever since this afternoon it seems like you are protective of me. I avoided you for about six years, with the occasional insult on your part, and here you come dashing in like a vigilante in a messed up novel." Before he could say anything I went on, "Well, Inuyasha, this isn't fairytale-land. You're not going to automatically become my best friend again, my mother isn't going to love me anymore, and Kouga is not going to tra-la-la back to Santa Fe. This is real life; it doesn't work that way."

"Even if it might not, I'm still going to try to get it that way."

"By doing what?" I strode over to my car. I needed sleep, "Coming with me?" Panic washed over me as I realized what I suggested.

Contemplative was the only way to describe him at this point. "I was thinking more along the lines of physical harm to Kouga," he rubbed his chin, "but that sounds better. Come on. I'm driving."

Growling, I walked to the passenger side, but I didn't argue. Sadly, I even gave him the keys because that was just how tired I was. Sometimes I can be so passive.

Minutes later, as we were standing in the living room of my apartment, I asked him, "Won't your mom be worried?" the question was futile, but I was desperate to get him out of my space. He was giving me fluttery feelings.

"Nope, she'll assume." Confidence seemed to radiate out of him as he walked to Shippo's room, "Cute, it befits him."

"Yeah, it does." By that time I had finally realized that it was useless to resist Inuyasha staying there, so I walked over to my room to get him some extra blankets. Much to my frustration, he followed me.

"Your room doesn't fit you, though. It's too… unfeeling."

"It's neat, and I like it that way. Anyways, even if I wanted to redecorate, I couldn't. Money is scarce enough as it is." To get his blankets I opened my little closet and got him the dingy tan sheets. When I turned back around, Inuyasha was sitting on my bed. The damn flutters got more insistent, and I desperately wanted him out of the bedroom. These feelings were NOT what I wanted to feel for him, the ex-friend/ex-tormentor. "Inuyasha, can you leave the room please? You can sleep on the couch," my hands shoved the blankets into his chest, "I need to call Miroku and Sango."

Inuyasha left along with the flutters, and I called Miroku and Sango quickly on a three way conversation to tell them what was up. Both of them were surprised and mad, but I lightened the mood a bit by telling them that they should be worrying about their impending relationship. Sango growled and called Miroku a pervert after he told her that they should think of the wedding night. Then I laughed a little and told them that I would see them the next day.

A large grin passed over my face (even though I willed it not to) when I heard Inuyasha's snore in the next room. Relaxation passed over my body as I closed my eyes. Whatever the reason, Inuyasha was there to protect me, and I felt grateful even as my mind shut down in sleep.


	5. protection pt 1

(A/N: I do not own Inuyasha, Dora the explorer, or any of the other brand names that are in here. All I own is the plot. I hope you like it!)

The next morning after my alarm woke me up at my normal early hour, I regretted smiling about Inuyasha's sleeping form last night. At the sound of the loud blast of music he immediately woke up cursing my name. "Look, Inuyasha, I need to go to work. If you quit complaining, you can probably go back to sleep." I rubbed my eyes tiredly, and started towards the bathroom. "I won't be back after my shower, so just lock the door behind you."

Ten minutes later I stepped out of the bathroom to the smell of cooking eggs, pancakes, and I guessed orange juice. I buttoned the last button on my shirt just as I stepped into my small kitchen/dining room, and saw sunny side-up eggs and pancakes with syrup on them sitting on my Dora The Explorer plates. "Inuyasha," I saw him sitting there eating the food, "what happened here?"

"Oh, I cooked this up quickly." Inuyasha looked up at me with a piece of egg still on his fork. "What? Did you think I couldn't do this kind of stuff?"

"Um," I sat down in the chair opposite him, "I'm a little surprised that you _would _do this kind of stuff, not that you _could_."

"Wait," he dropped the fork, "what the heck do you mean by that?"

"You were in my home-ec class last year, if you remember. You were actually pretty good at it, but you don't seem like that nice of a guy."

"Well, I am, so get used to it."

"I have to go, sorry that I couldn't eat this." I got up and went to get my coat.

I heard Inuyasha follow after me, "Hey! Where are you going?"

"I'm going to work, so I don't have time to eat," I took my coat off of the hanger, "Why do you seem so surprised?"

Inuyasha closed his mouth and then opened it again right afterwards, "I'm not, now I understand why you can't eat."

I was genuinely confused when he asked me that. I mean, what was he trying to get at? "Huh?"

"How many jobs do you have?"

Now I knew what he was trying to imply. At the time, I found it insulting, "Just because I have so many jobs does not mean that I can't take care of myself. I am just fine."

Inuyasha's voice started to raise, "Oh, please, Wench. You even said yourself that you didn't eat for those few days because you didn't have time! Tell me how that doesn't prove you have too early and too late of jobs!"

"Don't yell at me, Inuyasha! My name is not WENCH, I DO have enough time in my day, and I just forgot to eat for those past few days because I was preoccupied!" I tried to calm myself down, but I did not have that much success. "Besides, why the hell are you so concerned about me? Only a few days ago you had forgotten that I existed!"

"I NEVER forgot you existed." When Inuyasha noticed my shocked face, he immediately calmed down, "Look, I'm going to come with you to your work. Chances are, if Kouga knows where you live, chances are he also knows where you work."

I hesitated to tell that Inuyasha that Kouga already knew where I worked and immediately started arguing. "I can go to work by myself just fine, thank you very much."

"Please don't fight me on this, Kagome." He looked tired, and finally I relented.

"Fine, but don't bother me while I'm working. Hurry up, I don't want to be late, because if I am, I won't get as much work done."

On the way out I heard him mutter something along the lines of "I didn't expect this," but I figured that it was just a normal reaction to the stuff that was happening.

……………………………………………………………………………………………..

The moment we arrived at the veterinary hospital, my boss came out to greet us with a confused look on her face. "Good Morning, Kagome, dear, who is this young man with you?"

"Good morning, Dr. Fisher," even though we feel like each other is family, it still felt awkward to hug my boss so I went straight into a short explanation of what Inuyasha was doing there. "Um, this is Inuyasha, ma'am. He's, um, here for my protection. He's kind of a friend…" I looked over at him and gestured for him to shake her hand.

"Oh, I'm terribly sorry, ma'am," Inuyasha said politely and shook her hand, "it is an honor to meet you."

Dr. Fisher blushed, and I almost rolled my eyes at how any woman of any age could be susceptible to his charms, except me. "Well, I hope you don't bother Kagome with her work," she smiled, "Um, Kagome, can I see you in my office?"

I knew that she wanted to talk to me about why Inuyasha was there, so I followed her obediently. As soon as I sat in the chair, I turned to face her. "What did you want to talk about with me, Dr. Fisher?"

"Kagome, I just wanted to ask why you need protection. Is something going on? You know you can tell me anything." Her voice sounded worried, and I didn't have the heart to keep it from her, so I told her the whole story.

"So, that's why Inuyasha wanted to be my bodyguard. He doesn't know that Kouga knew of my other workplace, but he has now assumed that Kouga knows everywhere I go, and he's being protective for some reason." I took a deep breath after my long story.

"Oh, dear," Dr. Fisher looked even more worried than possible. "Oh, dear, I may have done the wrong thing."

I couldn't imagine Dr. Fisher ever doing the wrong thing, but I decided to feed my curiosity, "What do you mean, Ma'am?"

"Well," she wrung her hands nervously, "There was a young man who called, and he was wondering if you worked here, and I told him yes, and then he just hung up the phone. He didn't sound as old as you said Kouga is, but he may have been getting information for him." She looked as if she was about to cry, "I'm so sorry, Kagome. I didn't know."

Suddenly I just went over and hugged her for the first time. "It's alright, you didn't know. You didn't know about any of this." Inside, though, I was quivering, and I didn't know what to do. "May I go back to work? I have some work I have to get finished and I need to man the desk," I forced a laugh just for her and she nodded, clearly still feeling guilt as to what she did.

Since nobody was in the office yet, I ran to Inuyasha, who sat right by my desk. However, right as he saw me running, he stood up. "What's the matter, Kagome?"

I couldn't take it anymore, I couldn't take not having a comforting arm around me, or somebody who could hold me, so I ran into him, wrapped my arms tight around him, and I started to cry. "I'm so scared, Yasha. I don't want to lose my baby. I don't want to lose my baby." I said this over and over again, sobbing into his t-shirt, and I fell a little bit more in love with him when I realized he was holding onto me just as tight.

(A/N I'm so evil because this is where I'm ending the chapter. Tee hee. Please read. You don't have to review, but please read! DDDDDDD btw, sorry I haven't updated in a while, so don't kill me. O.O. I'd like to thank all of my reviewers, you guys have been great [you know who you are, so I'm not going to say all of your names and if I don't update in a while, it's because I have tons of Spanish homework, I'm writing other fanfictions, and you know, just basic random stuff. I hope you liked this chappie!!!! And there will be more Sango/Miroku stuff next chapter, so for those shippers, don't worry, they'll be in here. Lol)


	6. protection pt 2

(A/N: I don't own Inuyasha, however the plot is all mine. By the way, I won't make any more promises about the chapters because they never come true. Lol. They will be a surprise. By the way, I know that the chapters probably seem confusing, but this will all weave together in the end)

Inuyasha had ushered me into the car after work that morning, and while he was driving I got the chance to become embarrassed by my actions. I knew I shouldn't have held onto him like that; I mean I barely knew him! Besides that fact, he used to torment me. Inuyasha was not my boyfriend, and I had to stop the thoughts of wanting him to be. It was too soon, too irrational, too-

Inuyasha jerked the car to a stop and got out. We had arrived at school, as I had noticed once my mind stepped out of its internal fog. I immediately rushed out of the car and grabbed my stuff. I didn't want to see Inuyasha anymore after my total meltdown in front of him, so I walked fast, and eventually I got to the door and ran to the library. I knew that Sango and Miroku would be there, and I desperately needed to see them before first block. However, I didn't see them immediately, so I went looking for them, and finally, I found them. Sango was, as usual, red faced, but this time Miroku was equally red faced and he looked angry. "Hey guys…" I approached them cautiously. Something was wrong, and I didn't want to spook them out of telling me.

Sango's voice squeeked as she talked "Hi, Kagz." She stood up and made it a point to not look at Miroku. Something was definitely going on. I heard a cough and Sango looked at me, gesturing towards the other side of the library, so I followed her.

"Okay, Sango, what is going on. Did something happen between you and Miroku?" I narrowed my eyes.

A blush crept over Sango's whole body, "Um… not exactly. Well, yes, but, um…" she paused, looking out the window, "we kissed." I sat there in shock.

"Wait… you kissed?"

"Yeah… but um, I told him that I, uh, didn't feel anything… and uhm… look, he said something that really hurt me, and um, look… I can't let him know that I do like him, but um… I also made him angry because I told him of something that I did and he hates me now."

I looked at her suspiciously, "What happened, honey?"

"I can't tell you yet, but just know that I thought that it was for the good of all of us, okay?" She looked like she was about to cry, so I didn't get mad at her, but I was a little confused.

"Alright, sweety… are you going to tell me in due time?"

"Yes," she wiped the tears off of her eyes and took my arm, "let's just go to class." Then the bell rang, and we walked out to go to our classroom… Something fishy was going on and I realized I didn't want to know what it was.

Throughout the whole day I would catch glimpses of Inuyasha in the hallways, and for some reason, I would see him fighting with Kikyo. I just walked past them usually, because I just assumed that the fight was about the fact that they had broken up. Finally, by the end of the day, I was exhausted, confused, and I needed to sleep, but I couldn't do that.

I saw a figure dart under a bush as soon as I turned towards it. I didn't know if I was hallucinating or if I had actually seen it, but somehow I convinced myself that it was just an apparition caused by the fact that I was practically in dream world already. I walked over to my car, and then I suddenly realized that Inuyasha had my keys. I growled and kicked one of my tires. The man was going to drive me batty and I couldn't stop it. Suddenly I heard a voice behind me that just made my day _loads_ better.

"Looking for these?" Inuyasha stood behind me and smirked, then he unlocked the door and climbed into the driver's seat. I felt like screaming. He wasn't going to give me a break. I did not need a bodyguard! The car started and I jumped into it. "I knew you were going to try to take off without me." He gave me one of those annoying self-righteous smiles that I wanted to punch him for. This week was not good for me, and I seriously wanted to do some things to him at that moment that would make sure he would never sire children.

My teeth gritted against each other as I struggled to say something to him. "Inuyasha, you don't have to guard me anymore. I don't want you to guard me. I'm fine. Besides that, as long as your mom keeps Shippo, he'll be safe. I know that for sure. So stop trying to be a hero!"

He gripped the wheel as he started to drive out of the parking lot, "If he knows where you live then you need protection. Also, if he knows where you live, he might know where you work. You need someone around to protect you." His eyes were tight, and I felt grateful, but my anger quickly quashed that. I didn't want to be angry at Inuyasha, but my day had been so crappy, and he was the nearest person there.

"He already knows, genius." I muttered and then I rolled down my window.

"WHAT?" His face went red and I had the satisfaction of seeing a vein of his pop out on his forehead. He turned the corner towards his house and then came to an abrupt stop in the driveway. "You never told me that? How does he know?"

"I have no idea, buddy. I mean, he came to the restaurant, and heck, somebody even called Dr. Fisher-"

His face, if possible, became even redder and angrier, "You didn't think to tell me this?"

"Technically, it's none of your business." I got out of the car and walked to the doorway, "Now, I want to see my son. Give me back my keys too, you're not coming with me to work."

"Hell, I'm not. I'm going to stick to you like white on rice, Kagome. You're not going to even pee without me knowing."

I screamed in frustration and opened the house's door without knocking. I desperately wanted to see Shippo before work, and to talk to Inuyasha's mother about having him back down. I visibily tried to calm down when I got into the house, because I didn't want Shippo to see me yelling. I stalked over to the living room, because I heard the voices of Inuyasha's mother and Shippo in there. I could go quickly and get Inuyasha basically out of my life before he could say "wench."

"Mrs. Takahashi?" I said as I saw her playing with Rin and Shippo, "can I talk to you?"

"Sure, Dear," she smiled and picked Shippo up to give to me. He put his arms around my neck and squeezed happily. I smiled, but then I turned to Inuyasha's mother.

"Ma'am, I need you to talk to Inuyasha about not staying with me anymore."

"But why?" she frowned. "Is he not taking care of you?"

"That's just the point," I shifted Shippo in my arms so he would stop squirming, "he's trying to be with me every hour of every day, and now he's mad because I did not inform him of how much Kouga knows."

She smiled a little, and I couldn't help but think it was a little bit evil. "Oh, I'm sorry honey. However, I can't help you right now. You see, I have some people coming over, and they're going to redo Inuyasha's flooring while he's gone, so I can't help you."

I tried not to narrow my eyes. This was getting difficult. I barely knew Inuyasha, and it seemed like everybody was trying to keep us together. I hated it. "Okay, thank you." Shippo was fast asleep in my arms, so I handed him over to her and started to walk out. My mood had dropped again, "Oy, Inuyasha, let's go! I need to get to work, you pain." I walked out and slammed the door.

Inuyasha came out a few minutes later holding a large overnight bag. "We have more to talk about."

"I'm looking forward to it." I rolled my eyes, and suddenly my phone rang, I picked it up and answered gruffly, "Yes?"

Hojo's voice sounded from the other side of the line, "Hey, Kagome, um, I just got a message for you."

I froze, "What is it?"

"Um," I heard the rustling of a piece of paper, "it says, 'Do you really think that you can keep me away? Inuyasha can't help you. I have people you know on my side. We will be together again. The locks on your apartment won't keep me out.' Um, Kagome, is something going on?"

"No," I forced myself to keep my voice light, "it's just a joke from one of my friends. I'll be at work in 20 minutes." I closed the phone and climbed into the car.

"What happened?" Inuyasha started the car and drove out of the neighborhood.

"Um, Kouga knows you're with me."

"What? How could he know?"

"How do you think? He's been _stalking_ me." I was angry, scared, and confused. Inuyasha was silent, but I could see the tension forming around his body. The rest of the ride was spent in silence. We arrived at the restaurant and we both walked in together. It was awkward, but Inuyasha was determined to stay with me, which was annoying, and I hated him getting into the situation. It was dangerous, and I had started to have strong feelings for him which made it worse.

Hojo walked up to me, with a concerned look on his face, "Kagome, this just got dropped off for you." He handed me a brown envelope and my hands tightened around it quickly. Instinctively I knew who it was from. I sat down on a chair in the office area and started to open the envelope carefully. I pulled out the contents and then I started to hyperventilate.

Inside the folder were pictures of me sleeping the night before. There were also pictures of the Takahashi house inside of the folder. I couldn't figure out why Kouga was trying to frighten me, he was the one who had left. However, I remembered how he was in our relationship: demanding, possessive, and controlling. I realized that he wouldn't stop until he had us. He wouldn't stop until he got me and Shippo, and gained control of my life once again.

I hadn't noticed that Inuyasha had snuck up behind me, but I realized he had when he said, "I'll kill him." However, I wasn't disturbed by that fact, because I wanted to do the same thing.


	7. A necessary change

(A/N: hey! We all know that I don't own Inuyasha. I'm sorry for all the fluff in here. I was just feeling in a pretty fluffy mood . Enjoy. Any comments are welcome. )

The pictures scattered to the floor as my grip could not hold the vile evidence any longer. This was no longer just an ex-boyfriend taunting me; this was a psychotic stalker who would not stop until he got what he wanted: me. I heard my feet before I knew what I was doing. I was walking out of the employee's area and back to my car. The nightmare was too much for me.

I felt Inuyasha's presence behind me a few minutes later. He seemed to hesitate, then I heard the lock click and the driver's side door open, and I followed immediately. I saw something brown out of the corner of my eye, and I knew that Inuyasha had kept the folder for evidence. A few minutes later, Inuyasha spoke, "You can't go back to work."

Normally, I would have yelled at him for being so arrogant, for telling me that I couldn't do something. However, I knew he was right, and I was too numb to talk, so I nodded silently. The rest of the ride to my apartment was silent. Neither of us wanted to speak, because there was nothing to speak about; at least, nothing that we wanted to speak about at the moment.

I heard Inuyasha open my door before I realized that the car had even arrived at my apartment. His hand touched my arm and I immediately shook it away, because I couldn't deal with the unexpected jolt of electricity that coursed through my body at his ministration. Inuyasha spoke "Get your stuff and we need to be out of here soon."

"What are you talking about?" my voice stated numbly.

"We're going to sleep at my mom's house." My head snapped up, so he continued, "He couldn't get inside of my mom's house, that's why there were only pictures from the outside. You'll be safer."

"Wait. Where are we going to sleep at your house? Your mom told me that they were refurbishing the floor in your room," even with the fog of disbelief, I managed to remember that fact in my returning lucidity.

Inuyasha looked at me as though I belonged at Western State Mental Hospital, "What are you talking about? I just got my new carpet last year." A growling sound resounded through the stairs, and I suddenly realized that it was me.

About thirty minutes later, I had gathered almost all of Shippo's and my belongings. Inuyasha had carried them down the stairs into my car, and then he started to drive again. The drive was surprisingly fast, maybe because my mind was preoccupied.

My laundry basket felt heavier with the weight of all of my belongings. Inuyasha was carrying most of the objects though, which I felt grateful for. I was also grateful that he was being surprisingly silent tonight, as if he really did sense that I wasn't in the mood for his certain type of "charm."

Inuyasha's mom opened the door, and her face twisted into surprise as she saw all of my belongings, and me, outside on the step. "Honey, what are you doing here? Don't you have work?"

"She's not going to work. He found her," Inuyasha answered for me and pushed through the door.

"Where am I going to sleep?" I asked hesitantly.

The tint in his mom's face went from pale to bright red in a matter of seconds. "Well… um… we don't have any more rooms, and I don't want you sleeping on the couch alone… So you'll have to sleep in Inuyasha's room." Her face became almost as red as a maraschino cherry in a shirley temple.

My face felt hot too, knowing that I would have to sleep in the same room as Inuyasha for a while. However, I simply nodded and trudged up the stairs behind Inuyasha. He opened the door and placed my stuff down onto his floor. His room was normal sized, just as I remembered it from before. There were a few changes to his room, like a bigger bed, a less kid-like bedspread, less mess on the floor, more rock posters on the walls, but essentially it was the same layout as I remembered.

I cleared my throat, "Uh, I'm going to go check on Shippo," I cleared my throat again, "I'll put my stuff up later." I rushed out of the room and down to the living room. Shippo and Rin were down there playing happily, and my eyes felt like an ocean. I didn't know what was going to happen. What exactly did Kouga want to do with us? Shippo did not deserve this drama in his life, especially at just two years old. "Hey, Kit," I said weakly with tears making my eyes shine.

Shippo looked up from his game as I descended the stairs, "MOMMY!" he ran fast and attacked me around my legs. I picked up and nuzzled my nose in his red hair.

"What have you been up to, Baby?"

"Everything, Mommy! Rin and I went to the zoo with her grandma, and I got a soccer ball…" He kept babbling on and on as I carried him to the couch. I let him talk, and finally when he stopped I hugged him tightly.

"Do you want some pancakes and… eggs for dinner?" I smiled happily.

"YAY!" he scrambled out of my arms and rushed towards the kitchen, "Are you coming, Mommy??"

To get to the kitchen, I chased after him playfully. While we were in the kitchen, I started mixing together ingredients, and I let Shippo talk. Eventually, Rin, Inuyasha's mom, and even Inuyasha joined us for our "dinner." I watched as Inuyasha's face lit up as he laughed at what Rin and Shippo were saying, and how his face darkened in concern when his mother received a tiny cut from slicing up the fruit. My chest tightened as I saw the Inuyasha I once knew blend with the invincible man who stood before me today. I felt at home with his laugh. A few times I caught him staring at me the same way I was staring at him, but we both looked down whenever we noticed the other was watching.

A few hours later, Shippo and Rin were in bed, and I had decided that I was extremely tired. I walked up to Inuyasha's room, while he stayed watching TV on the couch. I dressed into my bedclothes, and suddenly I looked over at his bookshelf. I saw something that I knew I recognized, so I pulled it out, and I gasped.

It was an enlargened version of the collage I had made of us both from elementary school, when we had been the best of friends. There were pictures of us in the schoolyard, and at the sock hops, and a few of us at his house. The largest picture in the middle, though, was my favorite. I remember it had been taken at my birthday party that his mom had thrown for me, I was in a dress that I abhorred, but I wore because his mom had picked it out for me; Inuyasha was in a tux, and both of us had cake all over our faces, with our arms around each other, smiling innocently. I sat back on the bed as I reminisced about the different pictures.

I jumped when I heard Inuyasha speak, "I got that enlarged and laminated because that was the last thing you gave me, remember?"

"Yeah," I shook my head, "why did you keep it?"

He sat down next to me on the bed and took half of the collage. He sighed, "I guess I kept it because I realized I was an idiot for letting you guys go." I looked at the picture of Sango, Miroku, Inuyasha and I at the far corner of the collage.

"We were happy," I turned to face him and I saw something in his eyes as he moved closer. I jumped away and said, "I'm going to go to sleep." I opened the covers and lay down, pretending to fall asleep. I felt him move onto the other side of the bed, but he didn't fall asleep.

Thirty minutes later I felt him turn over to me, and brush my hair aside. "Kagome, I know you're asleep, but I just needed to get this out: You have become the most beautiful woman that I have ever known, inside and out. I'm jealous of the love you give Shippo, because I have started to hope that you would one day give that same love to me." He kissed me on the cheek and turned over. My cheek burned, but I managed to finally fall asleep within an hour next to his comforting presence.


End file.
